Barcelona's 2025 summer transfer window priorities: From signing a left winger to figuring out which fringe players to sacrifice amid more financial uncertainty

Before the summer window opened, goalkeeper didn't look like a priority position for Barcelona. After all, Marc-Andre ter Stegen will soon be ready to return to action after missing nearly the entire season with a knee injury, while Wojciech Szczesny had done a fine job replacing the German after Flick decided that Inaki Pena wasn't quite up to the task.

However, sporting director Deco deemed the opportunity to sign Joan Garcia too good to pass up - and one can understand why. The Espanyol No.1 was arguably the most impressive shot-stopper in Spain last season and his €25 million (£21m/$28.5m) buy-out clause makes him a bargain buy.

Plenty of other clubs were interested in Garcia, who not many people thought he would be willing to cross the Catalan divide, but he's now reportedly agreed to the move, meaning Barca now have a succession plan in place earlier than anticipated.

Of course, the question now is what happens to the other three goalkeepers on their books. Pena is almost certain to leave, but one of Ter Stegen (33) and Szczesny (35) will have to go too.

Ter Stegen is, of course, Barca's captain, but he's also a more valuable asset. Consequently, there's every chance that the Blaugrana will try to generate some much-needed capital by selling their skipper - even though he appears to have absolutely no intention of leaving.

There's a chance, then, that this situation could get a little messy unless Deco already has a solution in mind...

It's been seriously tough to watch the decline of Ansu Fati. Back in 2019, he was essentially Lamine Yamal, an outrageously gifted teenage attacker breaking one record after another.

Now, though, he's surplus to requirements at Barcelona - and has been for some time. Unfortunately for the Blaugrana (and for Fati), a year-long loan at Brighton did not go well at all, failing to materalise into a permanent move to the Amex - or generate any other interest in the forward's services.

Consequently, he returned to Catalunya last summer and spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign sitting on the bench, making just 11 appearances in total, starting only three games and failing to contribute a single goal or assist.

However, help, it seems, is finally at hand, with Barca and Monaco reportedly close to agreeing a loan move for next season that would include an option to buy, which the cash-strapped Catalans will be praying is taken up. It would obviously be sad to see Fati leave, but it really would be the best for everyone involved.

If there's one area of the field where Barca are light on cover, it's full-back. Both Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde serve as tremendous outlets down their respective flanks, with the pair providing eight assists apiece last season. However, when either man is missing, or simply requires a rest, Barca don't look quite so offensively threatening or defensively secure.

Gerard Martin, for example, did well going forward in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Inter, but only after being hauled off at half-time in the first - which explains why speculation is mounting that Barca are going to make a move for Leverkusen's La Masia graduate Alex Grimaldo to challenge Balde for the left-back berth.

It's been reported that Eric Garcia's stellar showing at San Siro has convinced Deco that he can be Kounde's understudy next season, but that feels a little reactionary. The former Manchester City defender is a versatile footballer - he can also play in midfield - but Barca would be much better off bringing in a specialist right-back this summer, especially if Flick doesn't yet have full faith in the 18-year-old Hector Fort, who started only five times in all competitions last term.

Missing out on Jonathan Tah was a bitter blow for Barcelona, as it's rare that such a top-quality centre-back becomes available on a free transfer. The Germany international wanted to join, too, but the deal reportedly collapsed because the Blaugrana weren't in a position to make any promises over his registration. Consequently, Tah ended up leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Bayern Munich, and leaving Barca in something of a pickle.

Child prodigy Pau Cubarsi and seasoned campaigner Inigo Martinez formed a wonderfully complementary partnership last season - but the former shouldn't be relied upon to start every single game at such a tender age, and the same goes for the latter, given he's just turned 34.

Of course, Ronald Araujo signed a contract extension in January, but the Uruguayan is such a peculiar player. At times he looks like a world-beater; on other occasions, a complete liability - which is why there was a suspicion that Araujo was given a new deal just so Barca could sell him for a reasonable fee this summer.

It's not as if the Blaugrana lack depth, after all. Andreas Christensen is just back from injury while the aforementioned Garcia would no doubt relish more game time in his preferred position. However, Barca are definitely going to need to sign a worthy successor to Inigo sooner rather than later, and cashing in on Araujo would at least go some way towards paying for one now that Tah is off the table.

On the face of it, Barca's ongoing interest in acquiring a high-profile left winger makes little sense. After all, Raphinha did pretty well in the role last season, to put it mildly, and the Brazilian has just been rewarded with a bumper new contract after propelling himself into Ballon d'Or contention.

However, Barca are no longer looking to replace Raphinha, who very nearly quit the club last summer. It now seems very clear that they're looking to move the versatile attacker into the No.10 role, given he showed last season just how much damage he can do in central positions.

Consequently, Barca need another option out wide, which is why they're being linked with Luis Diaz, Marcus Rashford and Ademola Lookman - a year after their much-publicised pursuit of Nico Williams.

Diaz is Deco's No.1 choice, but even though the Colombian and his family have long appeared open to moving to Catalunya, Liverpool unsurprisingly have no interest in selling a player coming off the most prolific season of his career.

Rashford and Lookman are obviously far more 'gettable', given both men have made no secret of their intention to leave their respective clubs (Manchester United and Atalanta) this summer. Ultimately, it will all come down to how much money Barca have to spend - which is obviously intrinsically linked to their outgoings...

Deco has been very clear about the fact that Barca have no intention of going "crazy" in this summer's transfer market, insisting that they only plan on making "two, three or four signings".

The former Portugal midfielder also declared, "We will not sell our best players." The new contracts handed out to Raphinha, Pedri and Yamal support that claim. However, some painful sacrifices may well have to be made due to Barca's still-precarious financial predicament.

Having fought so hard just to get Dani Olmo on the field, they certainly won't want to give up the Spain international. However, if Raphinha does indeed move into the attacking midfield role, could the Blaugrana literally afford to keep the injury-prone Olmo as a rotational player?

And what of Gavi, who's struggled to reproduce anything resembling his best form since returning from a cruciate ligament tear in October? The hope is that he'll eventually make a full recovery, but one cannot help but wonder what would happen if Paris Saint-Germain's reported interest led to an attractive offer for the aggressive midfielder. Gavi says he's going nowhere, but would his stance change if it became clear that he'd be a reserve once again next season?

Fermin Lopez is another player attracting interest from elsewhere, with both Inter and Manchester United said to be keen on the 22-year-old. Again, Flick would be loath to lose a forward that also wants to stay and really stepped up in the closing weeks of the season, but the German may end up having to decide which players he'd least like to lose.

As seems the case with Barca every single summer at this stage, solving the club's monetary concerns will take precedence over addressing the senior squad's sporting needs, meaning it's once again quite difficult to know exactly what to expect. Best brace yourself, then, for another summer of incessant uncertainty in Catalunya...